VEHARI, July 6: Three hardened criminals were killed in an encounter with police on Friday at Tibba Sultanpur, 40 kilometres from Vehari, District Police Officer Ali Nasir Rizvi told Dawn.

The CIA police on a tip-off raided the hideout of some dacoits at Chak 265-WB, on Dunyanpur Road. A crossfire ensued which continued for two hours. In the crossfire, three alleged dacoits were killed while a passerby, Kamran, was injured.

Police say he was shot by the dacoits. He was admitted to Nishtar Hospital.

The DPO said two dacoits had been identified as Mustafa Dogar and Murtaza Dogar who had struck several times in Vehari, Lodhran, Layyah and Muzaffargarh in the last two and a half months.

He said the gang was involved in dacoity, murder, vehicle theft and kidnapping incidents and had shot a constable in Lodhran three days back. They had taken away 1,600 fertilizers bags from a Gagoo shop in the last month. The gang struck while in police uniform.

Police seized three Kalashnikov and dozens of bullets from them. He said that CIA police, Elite Force and Tibba Sultanpur police jointly worked to trace the gang. The bodies were sent to the Vehari DHQ for autopsy.